The Malone University women's basketball team suffered its first home conference loss since the 2015-16 season finale on Saturday, falling to Davis & Elkins College 74-71. With the loss, Malone drops to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. D& E, meanwhile, improves to 2-3 on the year (1-1 G-MAC).
 
Recap
The Senators opened up a 24-22 lead in an up-tempo first quarter that featured six ties and five lead changes. Malone held the upper hand early on, taking a 10-4 advantage in the first four minutes on back-to-back three-pointers from Chrissie Vaughan, but Davis & Elkins responded by shooting 8-of-10 over the next six minutes to take the lead into the second quarter.
 
Following a three-pointer from Dani Drayer that tied it a 30-30 midway through the second, the Senators scored nine of the next 12 points to go into halftime with a 39-33 lead. Baylen Dyrlund and Vaughan then combined to score 13 of Malone's 17 points in the third quarter as the Pioneers slowly whittled their deficit to 53-50 heading into the fourth.
 
A three-pointer by Paiten Strother on the first possession of the final frame tied it at 53-53. The Pioneers took a 55-53 lead on a Dyrlund layup and then a 58-55 lead a Sydney Wentling three before the Senators fought back with an 11-2 run that gave them a 66-60 lead with 4:47 remaining.
 
Following a media timeout, the Pioneers answered back with seven straight points, including a wide-open left wing three-pointer from Naomi Grandison and a nifty jumper in the paint from Wentling that gave Malone a 67-66 edge with 3:13 left to play. Davis & Elkins' Aliyah Dukes countered with layups on consecutive possession to put the Senators back in front 70-67 with 2:22 remaining.
 
A Dyrlund layup at the 37-second mark cut the lead to one point at 70-69, but the Pioneers fouled D&E on the ensuing possession. Following a pair of Senator free throws, Holly Groff trimmed the deficit to 72-71 on a driving layup with seven seconds left. Dukes, however, knocked down both free throws on the next possession, leaving Malone down 74-71 with one last chance to tie it. Vaughan had a solid look at a three-pointer in the final seconds, but her 25-footer was off the mark and the Senators escaped with the win.
 
Game Highlights
-D&E was an efficient 54.7% (29-of-53) from the field. That number marked the highest by a Malone opponent since nationally-ranked Ashland shot 55.7% vs. Malone in January of 2016.
-Malone finished 24-of-56 (42.9%) from the field, 33.3% (8-of-24) from three, and 78.9% (15-of-19) at the charity stripe.
-The Pioneers outrebounded the Senators 31-25 and held a 19-13 edge in second-chance points, but were outscored 40-28 in the paint.
-D&E totaled just two points off of the bench as all five starters each played at least 32 minutes.
-Before Saturday's loss, Malone had won 10 straight games over G-MAC opponents, including seven straight at home.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Baylen Dyrlund finished with 20 points, two shy of a career-high, on 8-of-12 shooting. She added four rebounds, a block, and a steal.
-Junior guard Chrissie Vaughan collected 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists – the most in a game since her freshman season.
-Holly Groff and Sydney Wentling each chipped in with nine points. Groff added three assists while Wentling added five rebounds and three steals.
-Naomi Grandison tallied eight points and a team-high six rebounds
 
Davis & Elkins Individual Highlights
-Aliyah Dukes scored a game-high 23 points along with two assists and two steals to lead the Senators.
-Kali Wilburn added 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and a team-high eight boards
-Nicole Armstrong finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
 
Up Next
Malone will trek to Hillsdale next Thursday, December 7th to continue G-MAC play.